Monthly Archives: April 2011

This was a really informative week, we had everyone demonstrate the progress made from last weeks lesson, “sit and lie down” Daisy the Black Labrador had perfected this, she was great, she even did it without a treat reward, the owner simply stood with her hands behind her back and give the command, Daisy Dog obeyed straight away, they really practised last week, and it has paid off and very quickly at that. The other dogs managed to sit straight away when asked but not all managed the lie down, they did eventually, but you can tell who hasn’t been practising. This week Rachel spoke about the tone of your voice, if you are saying lie down in a different tone each time you give the command, then your dog thinks it is getting lots of different orders, the object is to say it once, then wait for your dog to think about it, you can then repeat the command but in the same tone and taking your hand to the floor as you do it. We also spoke about those little accidents in the house, and how to stop this happening, it turns out that a puppy has no bladder control till they are around 22 weeks, but they can still understand what you mean if you prepare them, before this age. Rachel demonstrated how to get your dog to ring a bell to tell you they need to go out for piddle, Wisp demonstrated this and it was amazing to watch, he would put his nose on the bell and nudge it, sit at the door an wait for it to be opened, what a brilliant idea, I am going to rush out and buy this useful piece of equipment and new party trick. Further advise was given on feeding and chewing, Chewing on a major level usually last up to 18 months. When your dog is loosing its puppy teeth they usually start to loose them from the front first and work round to the back ones afterwards. Like Humans, dogs can suffer tooth decay, from a build up of plaque, Both my current and previous dog, which was also an elderly rescue dog, had hardly any teeth, the Vet had removed them for health and discomfort reasons, You can avoid this drastic action and

£3.28

expensive treatment by keeping your dogs teeth clean, you can use a toothbrush specifically designed for dogs or a finger toothbrush and of course a meat flavour toothpaste. You can purchase these from my product page. We were also given advise on how to stop attention seeking behaviour and the importance of Microchipping, Rachel is a Vet Nurse and can offer this service to anyone wanting their dog or cat microchipping, please contact Rachel direct for further details 07788 956164 or email rachelbean@rachelbean.co.uk

But training or not, Seriously! how do you motivate a dog that looks like this :

I attended the first class of a 4 week course on “how to train you puppy” what a fantastic experience, The course was lead by Rachel Bean who is a Veterinary Nurse specialising in Canine Behaviour Modification and Basic Dog Training. You can read all about Rachel on her website http://www.rachelbean.co.uk/ and facebook page http://tinyurl.com/6jhmr7xRachel has over 16 years experience and she is a full member of The Canine and Feline Behavour Association – www.cfba.co.uk. Rachel gave a speech to open the course outlining her vast experience of the subject and made everyone feel welcome immediately. The puppies were barking and some play fighting with each other, there was selection of breeds from Beagles, labradors, German Shepherds plus lots more, I have to say my favourite was the 12 week old beagle named Appollo, just a brilliant name. A mop and bucket had to be carried about as you can imagine, puppies, floor, excitement you get the picture. Rachel went on to tell us that dogs do not mature until the age of 3 so training should be continual during this entire period if you only train them for 6 months your dog will forget, of course a lot of repetition and treat bribery is needed for the start and then she went on explain how you eventually make that bribe into a reward. A dogs brain is like a sponge, and you have to fill that sponge with information,

Wisp

of course dogs cannot understand the English language, as I’m sure most of us forget this small fact, me for one. Your dog learns the English words by assosiation, for example, when your dog responds to your actions and it is followed by the word ‘Sit’, straight afterwards, it will learn the word ‘Sit’. It’s a bit like trying to communicate with someone in a foreign country who does not understand English, you use actions and follow that up with the word, a bit like asking for a glass of water, you would probably improvise turning the tap and then drinking, followed by the word ‘Water’. The first session was focused on “Sit” and “Lie Down”. I was amazed how all the dogs responded so quickly and to see the shock on some of the owners faces was just a delight, of course I don’t have a puppy but rest assured the minite I got home I was practicing this art with my elderly dog, and it works almost immediately, yes, even with an older dog. OK my dog would sit for treats anyway, but lie down is something we have never tried before and it is going to need repetition to make it stick as she has never been taught this before. The star of the show was Wisp, she is Rachels dog and she is 18 months old, she gave a demonstration of her training, Most people were speechless at this point, the dog would shut the door on command, sit, lie, stand, repeatedly upon command and even talk when asked to. It really was quite a spectacle. Advise was given on what to look out for when buying a dog, what questions to ask the breeder and some of these questions were things that, well to be quite honest, you would never think of asking as they seem so irrelevant, but once the explanation of where certain behaviours come from, well, it all makes perfect sense, it really is a good course and I highly recommend it to anyone with a puppy or even a rescue dog of any age. Rachel is helping me better understand doggie behaviour and has introduced me to some courses in dog walking skills amongst others, so this will be a great opportunity for my business which I am trying to grow. So remember if your interested in the Puppy training class (4 week course) it’s a mere £50 at the Grotton Pavillion in Saddleworth on Wednesday Evenings at 7pm.